Star Wars: Outlaws (Ubisoft)

[jztemple2]

Just shy of 35 hours. I did a lot of side content, but still had 35 things in my journal at the end and I probably took less than a dozen contracts (but I may be lying there as I didn't really count). You can continue to explore and check things off the various lists after the final mission.

I'm at 31 hours myself, probably half way through the main quests(?) and with a bunch of side missions and a few contracts done. I've got Good reputations with all four factions and I'm trying to avoid messing that up.

However, with Satisfactory 1.0 and the electric update for Sweet Transit both dropping on Tuesday (where were you this summer? ) and feeling a bit burned out on the game, I might focus more on the main quests.

[jztemple2]

Well crap. I was beginning to burn out on the major quests, but started having fun again with the smaller missions. But now I've run into a bug... when I load a manual or autosave, it moves me to a location tied to a previous mission, not necessarily the just previous mission. I just had this happen again, loading the latest save after quitting and restarting the game and damn it, it actually moved me to another planet . I didn't lose any progress from previous jobs, but I'm now way far away from where I want to be. So the game goes on the shelf until this is patched.

[jztemple2]

Turns out the "bug" might be a "feature" . I don't lose any progress and it puts me on the same planet as the next main quest. So I continued playing and reached the point where I was warning that continuing with the current major quest would take me to the final part of the game and I would not be able to play any side quests or such until I had finished. I proceeded and am now part way through.

[jztemple2]

And done, 41.5 hours, with the main quests. Still have lots of side missions and intel available, maybe I'll get to them sometime.

Impressions? I enjoyed it. At times it did get a bit tedious, and at times a bit repetitive, but never to the point where I wanted to give up. It was easy to switch mission types to avoid the repetitiveness. The tedious parts, for me, where some of the larger quests with huge locations that required a lot of platforming but little else. But again, not that big a deal.

The design of the environments was amazingly good, lots and lots of little details that made the worlds immersive. And a lot of variety in the locations to visit. There were plenty of things to do. I especially recommend the Sabacc tables

The voice acting was excellent, never distracting. Whether it was a major player or just an NPC you walked past, the voices fit in nicely. And a super job on the dialog too.

Mission design was pretty good, except as I noted above, sometimes a bit tedious on the huge levels with a lot of platforming. Otherwise however there was a lot of variety to them and you could pick and chose the order in which you undertook them which diminished the repetitiveness quite a bit.

Finally, if you are a Star Wars fan, you are in for a treat. Lots of familiar places and people, including a few surprises I won't spoil. This is definitely the Star Wars game you were looking for

[Max Peck]

This seems particularly apt:

Spoiler:

[Unagi]

Dude, spoiler maybe ?????!

[Max Peck]

Oh noes!

[Isgrimnur]

Star Wars Outlaws creative director admits forced stealth sections are “incredibly punishing”, says next patch will ease up on them

[coopasonic]

Incredibly punishing is a massive overstatement. A pain sometimes? Sure. You do get an ability later that makes it much easier.

Spoiler:

Is that a grenade in your pocket or are you just a passing wave of red mist?

[Max Peck]

Star Wars Outlaws creative director admits forced stealth sections are “incredibly punishing”, says next patch will ease up on them

That news is so last page...

[Max Peck]

Incredibly punishing is a massive overstatement. A pain sometimes? Sure. You do get an ability later that makes it much easier.

Spoiler:

Is that a grenade in your pocket or are you just a passing wave of red mist?

He uses that phrase while talking about the one specific early mission that introduces the mandatory stealth gameplay. I suspect they're collecting telemetry that tells them far more people than they expected are repeatedly failing that particular mission, and since you have to get past it to proceed with the game, it might be a blocker for anyone that just gets frustrated with it. The worst case scenario for the devs is seeing that any noticeable number of players are hitting that mission, repeatedly failing, and then quitting because they think that if the tutorial phase is that hard then the rest of the game will be as well.

Spoiler:

If you're referring to smoke grenades, I don't believe you can use them in the mandatory stealth segments of missions, where being detected means an instant fail rather than a fight breaking out. For some of them the only option I've had for violent solutions is a stealth takedown. However, I do tend to forget that I even have smoke grenades, so it's entirely possible they're active and I've just never tried using them.

[coopasonic]

I literally never used the item you referred to, so not that.

I guess maybe I have more patience for stealth, or more luck. There is nothing in the game I would call incredibly anything.

[jztemple2]

I literally never used the item you referred to, so not that.

I guess maybe I have more patience for stealth, or more luck. There is nothing in the game I would call incredibly anything.

I never used that item either. By the time I unlocked it I couldn't remember to use it. However, I have lots of content left in the game, so maybe then.

I was playing in Story mode since my reaction time has to be measured using carbon-14 dating , but that didn't changed the mode in which certain levels had to be played. There is a difference, however, between "don't be detected" and "don't set off any alarms", it seems to me that later in the game there were significantly more of the latter than the former. I would occasionally screw up when trying to dry gluch a bad guy and they would go from goldish "?" to the red symbol. If I clocked them quickly enough no one else noticed, but even if the balloon when up, as long as I zapped anyone trying to set off an alarm before it became pumpkin time I could get away with being bunglesome.

[Daehawk]

Well thats sorta english..good try though.

[naednek]

patch is out, improves graphics, stealth and fixes.

[Max Peck]

Patch Notes for 1.1.2:

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Tweaks and improvement on some challenging stealth moments.
• Cross-progression and saving is now available.
• Overall PC performance improvement and optimization.
• Crash fixes and stability improvements across all platforms.
• "Old School Cool" trophy can now be unlocked for PlayStation 5 players so you can finally platinum the game!
• The "Hyperspace" mission is fixed, you can now take off.
• Various bug fixes affecting quest flow.

[Scoop20906]

Well thats sorta english..good try though.

[Max Peck]

Well crap. I was beginning to burn out on the major quests, but started having fun again with the smaller missions. But now I've run into a bug... when I load a manual or autosave, it moves me to a location tied to a previous mission, not necessarily the just previous mission. I just had this happen again, loading the latest save after quitting and restarting the game and damn it, it actually moved me to another planet . I didn't lose any progress from previous jobs, but I'm now way far away from where I want to be. So the game goes on the shelf until this is patched.

I just ran into something similar. When I quit last night, I made a manual save just outside the Imperial restricted zone on Akiva, but when I loaded that save this morning it is putting me at a different location half way across the map from where I was. This is also the same location for the most recent autosave from last night, which was created a half hour before I made the manual save.

The waypoint for the mission was also messed up after loading. Even the map showed the mission location correctly, the HUD waypoint was indicating a location somewhere else, possibly for the location of the quest giver rather than the location of the actual mission.

[Scoop20906]

I'm tempted to do one month of Ubisoft+ and try this out but I also kind just wait for invetiable sale. For those who have played, the complaints I have read the most bother me are crappy AI, combat that has almost progression (its the same all the way through the game) and a lackluster story. Will I get bored with this after the initial stars wards subsides? Does it have staying power to keep me engaged to the end? I'd appreciate opinions.

[YellowKing]

FWIW I gave up on it and canceled my Ubisoft+ sub. I may pick it up way down the road when it hits $20 or lower but for now there are enough games coming out this fall to keep me busy.

[Daehawk]

I cant get Outlaws or Avatar to run at all so Im out all that money.

[Max Peck]

I'm tempted to do one month of Ubisoft+ and try this out but I also kind just wait for invetiable sale. For those who have played, the complaints I have read the most bother me are crappy AI, combat that has almost progression (its the same all the way through the game) and a lackluster story. Will I get bored with this after the initial stars wards subsides? Does it have staying power to keep me engaged to the end? I'd appreciate opinions.

I'm not sure what you mean by "almost no progression." It's true that you really only have one main weapon, Kay's blaster. But it has 4 different modes, 3 of which have a variety of configurations that are unlocked as you progress through the game. In addition to that, there are a lot of abilities to unlock (although not all of them directly affect combat) as well as gear sets that allow you to customize your character build. Fundamentally, the game isn't a shooter, so if you're looking for a Star Wars shooter first and foremost, you'd probably be better off looking elsewhere.

I don't find the story to be lacklustre, but that's subjective. Overall I'm enjoying it and particularly like the world building they've done.

I'd say that if you're interested in at least checking it out, you might want to consider a one-month Ubi+ subscription and see for yourself. If it's not for you, there are plenty of other games to sample (assuming you don't already own everything else from Ubisoft that is of interest to you) so you can still get value for your money.

[Max Peck]

I cant get Outlaws or Avatar to run at all so Im out all that money.

Both should be playable on Luna. Did you both to follow up on that?

[Scoop20906]

I'm tempted to do one month of Ubisoft+ and try this out but I also kind just wait for invetiable sale. For those who have played, the complaints I have read the most bother me are crappy AI, combat that has almost progression (its the same all the way through the game) and a lackluster story. Will I get bored with this after the initial stars wards subsides? Does it have staying power to keep me engaged to the end? I'd appreciate opinions.

I'm not sure what you mean by "almost no progression." It's true that you really only have one main weapon, Kay's blaster. But it has 4 different modes, 3 of which have a variety of configurations that are unlocked as you progress through the game. In addition to that, there are a lot of abilities to unlock (although not all of them directly affect combat) as well as gear sets that allow you to customize your character build. Fundamentally, the game isn't a shooter, so if you're looking for a Star Wars shooter first and foremost, you'd probably be better off looking elsewhere.

I don't find the story to be lacklustre, but that's subjective. Overall I'm enjoying it and particularly like the world building they've done.

I'd say that if you're interested in at least checking it out, you might want to consider a one-month Ubi+ subscription and see for yourself. If it's not for you, there are plenty of other games to sample (assuming you don't already own everything else from Ubisoft that is of interest to you) so you can still get value for your money.

Thanks for the feedback, Max. It's hard to get opinions on this game mostly because there seems to be some kind of built-in hate for it. The one criticism I keep hearing that gives me pause is that the combat and stealth start to feel like a chore as you progress through the game. The battles all feel the same, and the stealth all feels the same. Additionally, complaints about the AI being pretty bad (I've seen some pretty bad videos of enemies constantly missing or not quickly reacting to Kay standing right in front of them) limit the fun as well. What was your experience with that?

[Max Peck]

Between simply gaining experience with the game mechanics and unlocking new abilities, I'd say the combat and stealth have become easier as I progress, although there may be some set piece missions I haven't got to yet that ratchet up the difficulty.

I wouldn't say that the combat AI is particularly good or bad. It's been good enough that I haven't noticed that it is bad, if that makes any sense? If I let an encounter devolve into a full-on fire fight, I've seen them do things like maneuver to flank me and they certainly don't seem to have that much trouble hitting me. They can be pretty "stupid" about things like not noticing bodies that are laying around in plain sight, but I assume that is by design given that the game doesn't have a mechanism to conceal bodies after a takedown. It is sort of AC-lite in that regard, but I'm OK with a more casual streamlined/abstracted approach that doesn't get into the minutiae of skullduggery like AC or Hitman.

[jztemple2]

I found the combat and stealth to be adequate, not special but not bad. However, I found the characters, missions and overall story to be excellent. I'm not normally that invested in stories or characters, but Kay Vess is a very interesting character and Ubisoft created a great framework of a story around here.

[Scoop20906]

Thanks Max Peck and jztemple2!! That gives me some more confidence to take the dive into at least ubisoft+. The previews and reviews were pretty bad from a lot of youtubers I respect so I really didn't want to be be disappointed.

[jztemple2]

Thanks Max Peck and jztemple2!! That gives me some more confidence to take the dive into at least ubisoft+. The previews and reviews were pretty bad from a lot of youtubers I respect so I really didn't want to be be disappointed.

I think there is an unconscious (and maybe conscious) bias against Ubisoft due to previous company shenanigans. It reminds me of the prejudice shown Microsoft products for so long. Also, I think there is that unconscious/conscious against Ubisoft open world games; see how many reviews end up mentioning the Assassin's Creed series.

[naednek]

I personally love the game. Yes there could be improvements. I hate that you can't shoot speeders who are attacking you while you are on your speeder. That's my main complaint.

It's a beautful game that immerses you into the star wars world. The main missions are fun, and the side missions don't really feel like something tacked on to fill time, it all feels thought out and meaningful.

[jztemple2]

I hate that you can't shoot speeders who are attacking you while you are on your speeder. That's my main complaint.

Yes you can shoot, but you have to build up the circle thingee in the lower right first. When it is full you press (on the PC) the "X" key and you get Kay's fast draw ability. The circle starts to fill as soon as you are in danger, like bad guys chasing you on speeders

[Max Peck]

It's the adrenaline mechanic, the same as comes into play during any combat. From what I've seen so far there are never more speeders chasing you than can be targeted when you trigger the adrenaline reaction, so your options in a chase are to either keep it going until you're charged up, then end it, or to just outrun the pursuers. Blasting them is more fun, but giving them the slip is usually not that difficult. I've never had a chase that ended with my speeder being shot out from under me.

[naednek]

I hate that you can't shoot speeders who are attacking you while you are on your speeder. That's my main complaint.

Yes you can shoot, but you have to build up the circle thingee in the lower right first. When it is full you press (on the PC) the "X" key and you get Kay's fast draw ability. The circle starts to fill as soon as you are in danger, like bad guys chasing you on speeders

ya, but i want the freedom to shoot whenever. What I read was the developer didn't want people to be shooting at random innocents like GTA. I think they should have another reputation category for citizens that change based on how you interact

[Max Peck]

I suspect that, from a practical point of view, it would take more work than they were willing to devote in order to make mounted combat fun in any way. It's already difficult to simply look around while at speed without crashing into something, let alone trying to aim and shoot. The only reason that adrenaline mode works is because it pauses time while you scan around and paint your targets.

[naednek]

I suspect that, from a practical point of view, it would take more work than they were willing to devote in order to make mounted combat fun in any way. It's already difficult to simply look around while at speed without crashing into something, let alone trying to aim and shoot. The only reason that adrenaline mode works is because it pauses time while you scan around and paint your targets.

True, just hate the fact they can shoot me at any time without that game mechanic but I can't.

[Max Peck]

Don't think of it as them shooting you. Think of it as them charging up your battery so that you can shoot them.

If you really want to shoot them without waiting to go bullet time, just stop and dismount. They'll do the same and you can have a proper shoot-out with them.

[Daehawk]

I cant get Outlaws or Avatar to run at all so Im out all that money.

Both should be playable on Luna. Did you both to follow up on that?

No I cant afford yet another monthly sub service right now.

[Punisher]

I cant get Outlaws or Avatar to run at all so Im out all that money.

Both should be playable on Luna. Did you both to follow up on that?

No I cant afford yet another monthly sub service right now.

I'm curious. Do you know why you can't play Outlaws or Avatar? What part on your PC is holding you back?

[Daehawk]

Most likely my cpu. I built this system in 2010 or 2011. It has a intel i7 26000K. It can play most stuff turned down thats new but this wont even start.

Otr it could be my gtx 970 4 gig vid card. 4gig is small now..8 is min. In fact that may be it.

Otherwise I have 16gig gskill ripjaw mem

Asus P8P67 Deluxe mobo

ssds and sound card and such.

I just get black screens or dumps straight back to desktop when I click them to run..mostly black screens.

[Punisher]

I'm assuming that you already updated your Nvidia drivers to the latest version.
If so it might very well be your video card.

[Max Peck]

I cant get Outlaws or Avatar to run at all so Im out all that money.

Both should be playable on Luna. Did you both to follow up on that?

No I cant afford yet another monthly sub service right now.

You shouldn't need a Luna+ sub if you still have Amazon Prime:

In order to play the PC games, the titles must be available on Amazon Luna, and players must have an active Prime membership or Luna+ subscription.